Talk:Empress Theresa (Book)/@comment-38240282-20190120183655
I understand Norman Boutin is claiming no one has ever pointed out Empress Theresa was badly written. This was my review posted October 2014. As of October 2018 the review was ranked second with 111 likes. After the review lay dormant for years, Norman began commenting on it again and arguing about the points made in the review. Amazon removed this review with four others, including Norman's own 5 star review, in October 2018. Here is the original in which I point out several writing errors along with other material not appropriatee for a children's or YA book. This review was referred to in the DTRH and other reviews. I have now posted this original review at GoodReads, as well. -------------------------- As a teacher, I am always interested in contemporary novels I can share with my students. I also like to recommend science fiction, and bought this book to add to my reading lists. I saw that Empress Theresa was being promoted to children as a story about "a good girl," and was reportedly recommended by a curriculum coordinator, so I was eager to find a new gem for my high school, and possibly middle school, students. Sadly, Empress Theresa is not that book. The book is chock full of typographical, incorrect antecedents, and punctuation errors (incorrect dialog punctuation is consistent throughout the book) – never the examples you want to set for young readers. The novel is filled with poorly written dialog, awkward descriptions, and erroneous character reactions. While I dislike long, run-on sentences, this novel is stuffed with the short, choppy variety which make reading a chore. A cover can make or break an independently published book, and this cover is especially unappealing. I presented the cover to twenty high school students and asked if they would purchase the book based on the cover. Not a single student was interested; most said they wouldn't give the book a second look. They referred to the cover as "bland," "misleading," and "amateurish." Bottom line, this is not a book for children or teens nor one that will appeal to many adults. There is more detail below if you are interested. --------------------------------------------- There is a disturbing quality to the main character, Theresa. While the story idea might have been good in the hands of a practiced writer, and a heroine with superhuman strengths and abilities is attractive to many teens, this novel is just an unappealing retread of the Diana Prince/Wonder Woman story. One student was interested in the story until he learned an alien life-form gave Theresa her superhuman capabilities; he lost all interest at that point. In addition, Theresa has some disturbing qualities. While the author probably meant to portray a self-confident child/teen, his writing turns the character into a creepy narcissist; again, not an image you want to push to young readers. It's okay to portray a young woman as breezy and confident – Nancy Drew struck me as that type of character when I first read those books – but Theresa is no Nancy Drew. Theresa spends an inordinate amount of time admiring her own body and showing it off. She admires herself in the mirror quite a bit. She talks constantly about her great mane of hair, and preens and shows off for television crews and the swooning populace. The author constantly writes about Theresa's perky breasts, cleavage, and rear end as they fill out her clothes; verbiage that, again, comes across as creepy and stalker-ish. The main character is described as a good girl. But this good girl cusses constantly – a common phrase is "what the hell" – and decides to marry at 18 because she can't imagine "not doing it" while she is finishing college. While the cussing is mild, it's not something I want to promote to my students. There is a sneering bit of class snobbery when Theresa meets her college boyfriend's other girlfriend. Theresa's thought "How would I feel if I had been the poor waitress back home hoping I could keep a college educated man…" is a jarring statement, again leading to the impression that this is not an admirable character. (This scene is even more confusing with the typos, disjointed dialog, and Theresa's manipulative character; not at all representative of creative and concise writing.) Theresa is the Savior of the world. No really, she IS the Savior of the world. No one else can solve the oil crisis, save the Jews, defuse wars, or stop global famine. Theresa is God Incarnate. She changes night into day. She remakes the continents and the oceans. She manipulates the sun. And just in case you miss the point, Theresa is dead for two weeks and returned to life. Again, not the story I want to present to young readers … that you, too, can be God if a fuzzy white alien chooses you.